Facing the Capitals — and doing what they can to keep Anaheim in sight, one game at a time

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Sharks may be 13 points behind the Anaheim Ducks, but Dan Boyle isn’t ready to concede the Pacific Division title just yet.

“It’s pretty amazing what they’ve accomplished,” Boyle said of the Ducks, who have won 17 of their last 18 games with the one loss coming at San Jose. “We haven’t had to deal with such a significant gap, but we’ve got to believe we can get it done. You have to aim high, right?”

Boyle wanted to emphasize that the division race with the Ducks wasn’t really what anybody would be thinking about when they were back at the Verizon Center a few hours later, getting ready to play the Washington Capitals. And, of course, he was responding to a question, nothing more.

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The more immediate task is to getting back in the win column tonight against a team with the NHL’s leading goal scorer, Alexander Ovechkin. But the Sharks don’t want to overlook other skilled players on the Capitals, including center Nicklas Backstrom.

“Backstrom to Washington is Jumbo to San Jose,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said and you’ll find the subject covered more in the online story filed earlier and available here .

***The Sharks have 13 games left before the Olympic break to try and cut into the Ducks lead, but McLellan and his players say they aren’t setting any specific goals as far as narrowing the gap between now and then.

“We’re not going to pick a number. We haven’t done that in six years so not going to start now,” McLellan said. “I dn know as we finish this string of games here, throughout Florida, we will have played 15 of 23 on the road in a pretty grinding schedule. After that, we get a good chunck of games at home.

“We’ve got a back to back set on the road and then we don’t go out again basically till March,” he continued. “That’ll do two things. It’ll give us a chance to recuperate at home, it’ll give us a chance to play at home and it’ll give us some more practice time.”

****Back to the Washington game.

Antti Niemi appears to be getting the start for the Sharks and rookie Phillip Grubauer (6-2-4, 2.16 goals against average, .934 save percentage) for Washington. Those numbers, by the way, are significantly better than either of the Capitals’ other options, Michel Neuvirth or Braden Holtby.

And since it was an optional skate this morning, no way of knowing if McLellan plans to juggle lines or defense pairings. Do know that it looks as if James Sheppard will be sitting out his third game in a row.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

Ovechkin shoots 3 feet wide and both Randy and Drew get hernias screaming about the amazing save by Neimi….

Huh?

Patty to the rescue. All he does is score game winners. Reminds me of Buddy Ryan’s comments on Cris Carter, “all he does is catch touchdowns.”

Huh?

Hedi’s moonlighting as a boxing commentator. Doesn’t surprise me.

Buddy Elf

The inexperience on the ice is pretty evident when it comes to breaking out of the d zone… There were a lot of times they made dumb decisions trying to get out of the zone. They need to clean that up ASAP…

I liked Wingels hustle early…

The fight was fun to watch.

Good win by the Sharks.

When will the league crack down on sucker punches… It is getting pretty ridiculous.

Buddy Elf

He does bring more insight than some people.

renoshark

Worcester West hammers Detroit, plays Boston even, probably a game we should have won and beats the Caps on the road. I’ll take it. It also helps that Nemo has apparently rediscovered his mojo.

Buddy Elf

Yah… Nemo not letting in softies is a huge part of it.

Still, the opponents inability to capitalize on the Sharks errors isn’t something they should rely on.

Add to that a link in which I found a game worn jersey of Nemo auctioned off along with his game worn socks (eww).

Did he just decide not to buy new ones?

Phat Stat Phil

I don’t know. He could use more numbers…

Huh?

I was noticing that problem about getting out of the zone too. I wonder how much of that is not adjusting to the speed at this level. And also, even though there was only one PP, when we have Uriah Hayes on the PP, your team has injury problems.

And it was a sucker punch, but the wrap up slo-mo replay showed that Pickles was roughing the Cap. But still the ref was right there for the sucker punch. Got to call that.

spooky

league will crack down on sucker punches the day they drop the instigator rule. which means never.

Buddy Elf

Maybe it’s the speed adjustment, but I think it was just poor decision making. Even Wingels made 1 or 2 bad decisions, and while he is younger, he’s definitely not new.

Easy chips off the board to get it out were usually available, but they tried to make a pretty play, or hesitated while the Caps collapsed.

Buddy Elf

What he lacks in numbers, he makes up for in brevity.

And technically, it is related to numbers.

Buddy Elf

I don’t understand the obsession with the announcers, the crowd chants, the (lack of) organ, etc…

Phat Stat Phil

I understand the obsession with the lack of crowd chanting.

Last game was pathetic. There were actual “Let’s Go Bruins” chants all over the place and they weren’t getting drowned out.

renoshark

Hayes has a powerful shot, is physical and can fetch loose pucks. That’s why he’s out there.

Alex

We just have their number.

ZEKE

HOw many players have you heard from playing for Zagreb Medvescak in Croatia? I can think of 1.

The league really needs to start suspending guys over stuff like that. A 1/2 a game check fine. Its just bad for hockey.

Its hard on the refs to keep these things from escalating, but the league can always step in after the fact.

As for what Vlasic was doing, you see plenty of that every game. Pretty much normal stuff. Refs have essentially decided not to call cross checking or slashing except in specific circumstances.

ZEKE

Always good to finish with 2 points. Good to see Niemi in a groove. When he gets in a groove, its best to just ride him. I think I’d play him every game until the Olympics except for back to backs.

Alex

Cheechoo. I knew that even before reading the article.

ZEKE

I have been to Zagreb, twas OK. Went on a day trip from there to Plitvice, a park in central Croatia which was spectacular. On the same trip, was in Vienna briefly — while the hockey world championships were being played there (2005 I think). Talked to some of the US players who were in the same hotel, mostly college sorts. Someone said Marleau was there, but I didn’t see him.

Jim

Was at the game tonight. A few notes for y’all….

Thought the Sharks were a step slow to start off – I don’t think they came out prepared to match Washington’s level of “compete” and it took a while to get them into the flow of the game.

Really liked Desjardins and Kearns on the third line tonight. Thought they were the one group that looked ready to go right from the opening faceoff, and they deserved to get that first goal.

Conversely, I realize we had a bunch of young kids in the lineup, but whenever I facepalmed tonight going “What were you thinking?” after a stupid giveaway or a badly-timed pinch, it was always either Pavs or Braun who was the guilty party. And of course they were both on the ice when Ovechkin scored, too. Not the best night for either one of them.

Chimera punching Vlasic was never shown on the jumbotron. The crowd booed after Pickles got up and fell down again because they thought he was diving; I doubt most of them knew he’d been clocked. I was sitting close to the pressbox and caught the replay on one of their monitors, which was how I knew.

They flashed a stat up that the last time Washington went through an entire game without being awarded a power play was back in 2002, so we almost broke a very long streak (no objections to the penalty Marleau took, though, since it snuffed out an excellent scoring chance).

Overall, very pleased to see the Sharks get the two points despite all the injuries and the remaining guys not playing anywhere near their best tonight.

Buddy Elf

Admittedly I was a bit distracted, and though I am a huge Desi fan, he didnt stand out to me at all tonight… may have to watch it again tomorrow w/o distractions.

Thanks for the in-person take on the game.

Buddy Elf

A continued thanks…

Phat Stat Phil

Apparently, this goes back to the beginning of the year. He apparently wasn’t wearing socks at the beginning of the season.

Stalock wears socks, so I wonder what the deal is.

Phat Stat Phil

To be fair, Vlasic had it coming, but that was pretty rotten.

Phat Stat Phil

How badly did that fight go for Volpatti?

He didn’t have another shift after 5:43 into the 2nd period.

Phat Stat Phil

Incidentally, in the last five games, Clowe has a goal and six assists.

MLBSF

Oh boy. Someone better tell Patrick Marleau that there are no shoot outs in the postseason. I know the Sharks like to take every game to the SO to get two points this year, but how is this going to help in the playoffs? smh

One goal in the last SEVEN periods?! Good god it’s getting grim. The olympic break can’t get here soon enough. Believe you me.

That Bearded Puck

I believe those are the cut resistant sleeves/socks they were over the rest of their gear.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I noticed that he seems to be regaining his health, and his ability with it.

GP_hockeyhappens

Really? Let’s just hope Vlassic doesn’t end up with concussion symptoms in the morning. I mean, the punch was targeting the head and landed in the face.

But, it was a Shark, so let’s defend Chimera(sp).

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I have a memory (what’s left of it) going back a long time, that there were always a couple of guys who didn’t wear socks in their skates, someone on the 1960s-70s Bruins. I believe it had something to do with fitting the skate as tightly as possible. Most guys didn’t (and still don’t?) like the feel of a sweating foot inside a hockey boot, on ice, which is cold (I know, stunning scientific discovery there).

Tom (fm Quinzee)

Kevlar? Just kidding.

JNebraska

I just laughed for 20 minutes. Also, I love Buddy Elf!

I also love beer!

Anyways, I could go into how the sharks are poised for a cup as they are still winning 5 forwards down. And that the ducks being up by 14 is really irrelevant at this point in the season being that they haven’t really had any adversity or injuries to deal with.

That Marleau, being traded, makes sense even though I also love him but they need

more physicality and they can get two great fore-checking and back-checking players for the price of one Marleau.

We could talk about Niemi’s 1.87 GAA is amazing and anyone saying anything differently is crap.

Also, that it’s common knowledge that Ovechkin and most if not all Russian players use steroid and use them openly, in Russia, in the off season. And how ridiculous it is that all “hockey” people who weep at the sight of his “shot” are also jokes.

sharks1989

How many regulation/OT goals does Marleau have this Season? How many regulation/OT goals does Couture have this Season? How many shootout goals does Marleau have this Season? How many shootout goals does Couture have this Season? When you find out the answers to my question then you will realize that you Sir are an idiot.

Alex

Good for him. Hope things work out for Clowe in NJ.

Matthew

How is mentioning “obsessing” ?

Tom (fm Quinzee)

You just got a free pass to the Museum of Redundancy.

EastBayRad

Brown stunned the hell out of him after the 6 punch or so. V’s brain finally caught up with his body and said ” STOOOOOOOOOOP” He was visibly shaken up. Brown is proving himself nicely. I like the guy.

Phat Stat Phil

All I’m saying is that if I were being ridden by Vlasic the way Chimera was, I’d have gotten up and thrown a punch at him too.

Glad to read about Cheecho keeping his dream alive and that he’s able to be with his family. His son being two years old makes this a perfect time for him to do this. Reading the comments it sounds like the fans really love him.

—————–
Q: How come the goalies never wear the same socks as the rest of the
team? I have noticed this for years and most of our keepers don’t wear
the same.

- Jason P.

TDC: Up until a few years ago,
most goaltenders did wear the same socks as the rest of the skaters on
their team. The biggest change to this came when the Reebok Edge uniform
system was introduced prior to the 2007-08 season.

One of the many changes to the traditional NHL uniform involved the player socks. Previously, the socks had been made of a knit material, but the Edge system updated the socks to moisture-wicking fabric that more closely reflected the jersey material.

With the new material and the extra
seams sewn into the updated socks, goaltenders would have had issues
with the socks bunching up and catching on the straps of their leg pads,
so most of them continue to wear the regular knit player socks in a non-descript color like black (or in Antti Niemi’s case, white).
—————–

– All players of each team shall be dressed uniformly with approved design and color of their helmets, sweaters, short pants, stockings and skates.

Altered uniforms of any kind, i.e. Velcro inserts, over-sized jerseys, altered collars, etc., will not be permitted. Any player or goalkeeper not complying with this rule shall not be permitted to participate in the game. For violations, refer to 9.5.
——————-

But, that said, there’s no rule that a giraffe can’t play football or that a goalie can’t wear socks.

Phat Stat Phil

Possible? But they’d have to be either transparent or flesh colored, take your pick.

MLBSF

Also remind me how many Stanley Cup rings Patrick Marleau has, even though he’s been in the NHL more than three times as long as Logan. I’ll wait.
smh